I included Hawaii, as both Matt’s dad and I have been there. Matt’s time in that state still awaits him. The provinces below, are my own travels.
Make your own map! It's kind of fun! http://www.epgsoft.com/VisitedStatesMap/
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Drivin' 48
A friend of mine had an interesting post on her blog about all the places she has traveled throughout her life. She included a colorful, little map of the United States that showed all the states she has been. Since my husband was a long-haul trucker and we used to go with him as a family from time to time, I thought it would be fun for us to make a map of our own. We homeschooled our son and riding on the truck across the lower 48 taught amazing lessons and gave us memories we don’t ever want to forget. Below is our map! Maybe eventually I will add a memory or lesson we learned from each state.
I included Hawaii, as both Matt’s dad and I have been there. Matt’s time in that state still awaits him. The provinces below, are my own travels.
I included Hawaii, as both Matt’s dad and I have been there. Matt’s time in that state still awaits him. The provinces below, are my own travels.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Heads Up!!
“How did you know?!” she asked me.
“Well, I don’t know. I just knew. I knew as soon as he said he wouldn’t stop until he saw that birth certificate.” I responded.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to see that birth certificate, too. I absolutely believe the United States President should have to show his certificate just like everyone else; but with this President, I just happen to believe we are beating a dead horse by continuing down that path.
What was it I felt I knew? I knew that Donald Trump would soon be telling us, if he didn't win the nomination for President, he would run anyway. How did I know? As I told my friend - I really don't know. Trump caring about Obama's birth certificate, just didn't feel right. I knew the minute Donald Trump made his Presidential campaign almost exclusively about Obama's birth certificate, that Trump would soon be telling us he will run whether he wins the nomination or not. And it is as I expected - last night Sean Hannity reported this is indeed what Trump has planned.
There you have it. If the Donald doesn’t win the nomination and runs anyway, he will divide the conservative vote and Mr. Barak Hussein Obama will once again be our President…unless, it’s Hilary, of course…but that is another story.
It’s kind of a no-brainer, really. One only has to look at the last two times a democrat has won the Presidency to see what has taken place. Each time the democrats have won in the recent elections, we see a third party candidate whom I like to call a “Spoiler” cause division among conservatives. First it was Ross Perot in the election against George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. And then it was Ron Paul in the election against John McCain and Mr. Obama.
Now granted, neither Republican in those two elections was my first choice to be the Presidential nominee. Neither is as conservative as I would like them to be. But the truth of the matter is, when they won the Republican nomination, the only right thing to do should have been to put our full support behind the candidate that won the nomination.
Where is the character in a man that runs as a Republican, but then when he looses the nomination he runs anyway; or he recommends his supporters place their vote for another 3rd party candidate. One has to ask why. It is clear these “Spoiler’s never draw enough votes to win, only enough to divide. So why do they continue to do it? Intentional? I don't know. Mr. Trump is an extremely intelligent man. Perhaps he just wanted to gain the attention of that conservative faction of the Republican Party. He certainly did!
Though the liberal media would have us believe otherwise, we are still a conservative nation. This truth is demonstrated by the fact that the Democrats have never won by more than around 40% of the vote. It has clearly been shown that had the conservative vote not been divided by a 3rd party candidate, the Republican would have won. Oh, and by the way; we are still a Christian nation, too, despite what Mr. Obama claims. But then he is not the only one claiming we are no longer a Christian nation; we even have Christians that now believe that. What they don’t realize is when they choose to believe this way, they are denying our roots and joining the left in their agenda of destroying our Christian heritage. But that topic is for another post as well.
I hope this post will be a heads-up. Heads up, conservative voter! Heads up, Christian! If we do not get solidly behind whoever wins the Republican candidacy in the next election, the democrats will once again be in control of our White House.
Throughout the last election, I heard over and over that there simply was no longer any difference between the Republican and Democrat parties. I think the vote on Obama-care proves otherwise. Every single Democrat voted for it, every single Republican voted against it. That is a distinct difference. And that vote hurt this country tremendously.
That is not to say, however, that we have to settle for less than conservative candidates. Of course we want to do everything we can to get the most conservative candidate in office. This is where the Tea Party is effective, and they have been absolutely what this country needed. But there will never be a “perfect” candidate. We are always going to have to vote for the “lesser of two evils” whether we want to or not; because man is evil. We are all sinners, and one doesn't have to look very far at any of our candidates, before we find a flawed human being, less than perfect in his beliefs, standards and actions. We must vote for the candidate that can win who most closely aligns with our beliefs.…trusting if we aren’t completely satisfied with him or her, it is only for a season and we will have to work that much harder the next time to help the more conservative candidate win the nomination. Someone did a really good job of convincing us to vote our conscious last election, some even saying we shouldn't vote at all because there was no one worthy! But the truth of the matter is, if we don't vote, or if we vote someone that we know can't win, we are voting for the opponent because our votes are divided. That is just a cold, hard fact my conscious will not allow me to do.
I am a strong advocate and supporter of the Tea Party movement. This grass-roots organization is doing a tremendous job of calling people back to our beginnings and demanding our U. S. Constitution be upheld. They are absolutely flat out correct in doing all they can to get the most conservative candidates in place for every office and every position. It is extremely important we seek out the ones that will honor our Constitution. But when the Tea Party's job is done, and the candidates are in place after the primaries, if the Tea Party supporters don't join with the Republican that wins the nomination (for which ever office it is) we are going to have a whole passel-full of democrats win elections all across our union, once again. The conservatives can only win, when we stay united. That might mean settling for second best for just a time. But believe me second best is better than what we have, now.
So, Mr. Trump! Thanks for your concern; but I think you just put the last nail in your coffin, when you said you would run anyway. We’ve been down that road before and we’re too weary with the “hope and change” it brought us. Oh, but if you win the Republican nomination? You absolutely have my vote!
“Well, I don’t know. I just knew. I knew as soon as he said he wouldn’t stop until he saw that birth certificate.” I responded.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I want to see that birth certificate, too. I absolutely believe the United States President should have to show his certificate just like everyone else; but with this President, I just happen to believe we are beating a dead horse by continuing down that path.
What was it I felt I knew? I knew that Donald Trump would soon be telling us, if he didn't win the nomination for President, he would run anyway. How did I know? As I told my friend - I really don't know. Trump caring about Obama's birth certificate, just didn't feel right. I knew the minute Donald Trump made his Presidential campaign almost exclusively about Obama's birth certificate, that Trump would soon be telling us he will run whether he wins the nomination or not. And it is as I expected - last night Sean Hannity reported this is indeed what Trump has planned.
There you have it. If the Donald doesn’t win the nomination and runs anyway, he will divide the conservative vote and Mr. Barak Hussein Obama will once again be our President…unless, it’s Hilary, of course…but that is another story.
It’s kind of a no-brainer, really. One only has to look at the last two times a democrat has won the Presidency to see what has taken place. Each time the democrats have won in the recent elections, we see a third party candidate whom I like to call a “Spoiler” cause division among conservatives. First it was Ross Perot in the election against George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton. And then it was Ron Paul in the election against John McCain and Mr. Obama.
Now granted, neither Republican in those two elections was my first choice to be the Presidential nominee. Neither is as conservative as I would like them to be. But the truth of the matter is, when they won the Republican nomination, the only right thing to do should have been to put our full support behind the candidate that won the nomination.
Where is the character in a man that runs as a Republican, but then when he looses the nomination he runs anyway; or he recommends his supporters place their vote for another 3rd party candidate. One has to ask why. It is clear these “Spoiler’s never draw enough votes to win, only enough to divide. So why do they continue to do it? Intentional? I don't know. Mr. Trump is an extremely intelligent man. Perhaps he just wanted to gain the attention of that conservative faction of the Republican Party. He certainly did!
Though the liberal media would have us believe otherwise, we are still a conservative nation. This truth is demonstrated by the fact that the Democrats have never won by more than around 40% of the vote. It has clearly been shown that had the conservative vote not been divided by a 3rd party candidate, the Republican would have won. Oh, and by the way; we are still a Christian nation, too, despite what Mr. Obama claims. But then he is not the only one claiming we are no longer a Christian nation; we even have Christians that now believe that. What they don’t realize is when they choose to believe this way, they are denying our roots and joining the left in their agenda of destroying our Christian heritage. But that topic is for another post as well.
I hope this post will be a heads-up. Heads up, conservative voter! Heads up, Christian! If we do not get solidly behind whoever wins the Republican candidacy in the next election, the democrats will once again be in control of our White House.
Throughout the last election, I heard over and over that there simply was no longer any difference between the Republican and Democrat parties. I think the vote on Obama-care proves otherwise. Every single Democrat voted for it, every single Republican voted against it. That is a distinct difference. And that vote hurt this country tremendously.
That is not to say, however, that we have to settle for less than conservative candidates. Of course we want to do everything we can to get the most conservative candidate in office. This is where the Tea Party is effective, and they have been absolutely what this country needed. But there will never be a “perfect” candidate. We are always going to have to vote for the “lesser of two evils” whether we want to or not; because man is evil. We are all sinners, and one doesn't have to look very far at any of our candidates, before we find a flawed human being, less than perfect in his beliefs, standards and actions. We must vote for the candidate that can win who most closely aligns with our beliefs.…trusting if we aren’t completely satisfied with him or her, it is only for a season and we will have to work that much harder the next time to help the more conservative candidate win the nomination. Someone did a really good job of convincing us to vote our conscious last election, some even saying we shouldn't vote at all because there was no one worthy! But the truth of the matter is, if we don't vote, or if we vote someone that we know can't win, we are voting for the opponent because our votes are divided. That is just a cold, hard fact my conscious will not allow me to do.
I am a strong advocate and supporter of the Tea Party movement. This grass-roots organization is doing a tremendous job of calling people back to our beginnings and demanding our U. S. Constitution be upheld. They are absolutely flat out correct in doing all they can to get the most conservative candidates in place for every office and every position. It is extremely important we seek out the ones that will honor our Constitution. But when the Tea Party's job is done, and the candidates are in place after the primaries, if the Tea Party supporters don't join with the Republican that wins the nomination (for which ever office it is) we are going to have a whole passel-full of democrats win elections all across our union, once again. The conservatives can only win, when we stay united. That might mean settling for second best for just a time. But believe me second best is better than what we have, now.
So, Mr. Trump! Thanks for your concern; but I think you just put the last nail in your coffin, when you said you would run anyway. We’ve been down that road before and we’re too weary with the “hope and change” it brought us. Oh, but if you win the Republican nomination? You absolutely have my vote!
Monday, March 28, 2011
Closing Windows and Cleaning House
I know I am, or can be, the most impatient person in the world. There is nothing I hate more than waiting at a red light, waiting in lines, or waiting in a doctor or dentist office. I have always felt, I just don’t have that kind of time to waste. "We’re burning daylight here and there is still much to be done", has always been my mantra. Poor Matthew! Seems like I am always making him hurry, and that just isn’t his personality.
Anyway, due to my impatience, I, more than anyone am pretty surprised by the fact that I enjoy blogging. Well, no it probably wouldn’t "waste my time" if I wasn’t on dial-up…but OH MY, is dial-up ever a big waste of time! If one allows it. It was pretty difficult to go back to dial-up after enjoying the freedom of “high-speed” while I had my book store. But I had no other choice…soooo, if I am going to use the internet, I have to put up with dial-up.
I decided the only way I could do this was to simply use our land-line for the internet and go to strictly using our cell phones for all phone calls. So, two years ago, I shut my ringers off and I mostly just use the land-line in order to leave the internet on throughout the day. That at least saves a little time, rather than waiting for a connection each time someone needs the internet.
This week-end I decided I wanted to check up on the blogs that I follow. I haven’t been able to do this for awhile, and it is something I enjoy. Both my men were working, so I had the house to myself and it was the perfect time to sit back and enjoy reading. It wasn’t long before I realized: hmmm, well ok; if I had peaceful reading in mind, with my crummy dial-up this certainly wasn’t going to be the case.
It went kind of like this: Type in address of desired blog…wait for page to load….wait for page to load…wait for page load….oh yeah; I can’t do this….go put a load of laundry in the washer. Sit down, to read the blog…enjoy what few photos actually loaded…wonder what photos are behind the red X’s. Click on new link to something that might be fun to read…wait for page to load…wait for page….go unload the dishwasher…..come back to computer, see that the page for some reason didn’t load. Rats!…oh well….at least I got to see some of what this friend was thinking…Type in next blog….while I wait for page to load, I will begin to vacuum….come back check to see if blog has loaded….laugh a little at this friend’s wit…click to see more photos….finish vacumming.
Come back to computer; type in next address…while I wait for it to load, I will open another Window to go to my bookstore and enter in some more books to my data base…enter two or three books…begin to price…Windows freezes…too impatient…I usually just get out…but this time I will click restart and see if that even works….Nope! Windows closes anyway!....Ok…next blog…loading, loading, loading….looks like it will be a pretty new design….It’s time to dust.
That done, I will try to enjoy some more blog reading…but Bullet is running in and out….this is one dog one can’t ignore…when he wants out…he gets let out…when he wants in, he gets let in…Sit down again…I want to comment on this blog to tell my friend how much I enjoyed it….sign in….woops wrong password….re-type password, get a snack while I wait for page to reload….wouldn’t post….hmmm…there’s always the windows - as in house windows - that need cleaning. I should probably do that instead.
And I blog because? It’s teaching me patience....oh, and a chance to clean house.
Anyway, due to my impatience, I, more than anyone am pretty surprised by the fact that I enjoy blogging. Well, no it probably wouldn’t "waste my time" if I wasn’t on dial-up…but OH MY, is dial-up ever a big waste of time! If one allows it. It was pretty difficult to go back to dial-up after enjoying the freedom of “high-speed” while I had my book store. But I had no other choice…soooo, if I am going to use the internet, I have to put up with dial-up.
I decided the only way I could do this was to simply use our land-line for the internet and go to strictly using our cell phones for all phone calls. So, two years ago, I shut my ringers off and I mostly just use the land-line in order to leave the internet on throughout the day. That at least saves a little time, rather than waiting for a connection each time someone needs the internet.
This week-end I decided I wanted to check up on the blogs that I follow. I haven’t been able to do this for awhile, and it is something I enjoy. Both my men were working, so I had the house to myself and it was the perfect time to sit back and enjoy reading. It wasn’t long before I realized: hmmm, well ok; if I had peaceful reading in mind, with my crummy dial-up this certainly wasn’t going to be the case.
It went kind of like this: Type in address of desired blog…wait for page to load….wait for page to load…wait for page load….oh yeah; I can’t do this….go put a load of laundry in the washer. Sit down, to read the blog…enjoy what few photos actually loaded…wonder what photos are behind the red X’s. Click on new link to something that might be fun to read…wait for page to load…wait for page….go unload the dishwasher…..come back to computer, see that the page for some reason didn’t load. Rats!…oh well….at least I got to see some of what this friend was thinking…Type in next blog….while I wait for page to load, I will begin to vacuum….come back check to see if blog has loaded….laugh a little at this friend’s wit…click to see more photos….finish vacumming.
Come back to computer; type in next address…while I wait for it to load, I will open another Window to go to my bookstore and enter in some more books to my data base…enter two or three books…begin to price…Windows freezes…too impatient…I usually just get out…but this time I will click restart and see if that even works….Nope! Windows closes anyway!....Ok…next blog…loading, loading, loading….looks like it will be a pretty new design….It’s time to dust.
That done, I will try to enjoy some more blog reading…but Bullet is running in and out….this is one dog one can’t ignore…when he wants out…he gets let out…when he wants in, he gets let in…Sit down again…I want to comment on this blog to tell my friend how much I enjoyed it….sign in….woops wrong password….re-type password, get a snack while I wait for page to reload….wouldn’t post….hmmm…there’s always the windows - as in house windows - that need cleaning. I should probably do that instead.
And I blog because? It’s teaching me patience....oh, and a chance to clean house.
Monday, March 21, 2011
The Sergeant and the Gentleman
Every once in a while, one hears something, that one just shouldn't forget. Ever! Thank God, for blogs! What a great way to share stories that really should be enjoyed by all.
When I got home from work, today, my son, Matt, and I sat down to catch up on things that have been taking place in our lives the last couple of days. He had been off to Emergency Services Training, and we really hadn’t had much time to talk.
He had a story to share about a friend of his, that I got such a kick out of, I simply had to share it with you. Let me preface things just a bit, first, though.
This friend is a member of Civil Air Patrol along with Matt. For those that might not know, Civil Air Patrol is the civilian auxiliary of the US Air Force. It includes a great program for youth that allows for some great experiences in community service, aerospace education, moral leadership and physical training. CAP teaches military bearing and a presence of mind that is very important for any cadet that would want to enter the military, but it is also great training with wonderful experiences for every aspect of life.
CAP also has a senior member program for adults. Both men and women participate. Every once in a while in life, we find women that simply resent being treated like a lady. It doesn’t only occur with military minded women; one might find it in any profession. An example that comes to mind - which happened recently - was when the lady Senator reprimanded the 5 Star General for calling her "ma'am".
"I worked hard for this title", she told the General. "I expect you to use it! Call me Senator," she demanded.
I’m still shaking my head over that one.
But anyway, you get the idea. Well, this week-end, a similar experience happened to this friend of Matthew's; TB I will call him. TB is a wonderful young man, whom our family has grown to love. He is just a flat-out, all-around, good kid...and I admire the way he has been raised.
While at a CAP activity recently and while in uniform, TB held the door for a female staff sergeant. As his flight sergeant, she of course had authority over TB. Rather than thank the cadet for his thoughtfulness, she lit into TB with both barrels. "Don't you ever hold that door for me and treat me like some lady when I am in this uniform!" she scolded.
Without so much as missing a beat, TB responded, "I'm not holding the door for you because you're a lady! I'm holding the door for you because I'm a gentleman!"
Yep, "presence of mind", right from the heart.
When I got home from work, today, my son, Matt, and I sat down to catch up on things that have been taking place in our lives the last couple of days. He had been off to Emergency Services Training, and we really hadn’t had much time to talk.
He had a story to share about a friend of his, that I got such a kick out of, I simply had to share it with you. Let me preface things just a bit, first, though.
This friend is a member of Civil Air Patrol along with Matt. For those that might not know, Civil Air Patrol is the civilian auxiliary of the US Air Force. It includes a great program for youth that allows for some great experiences in community service, aerospace education, moral leadership and physical training. CAP teaches military bearing and a presence of mind that is very important for any cadet that would want to enter the military, but it is also great training with wonderful experiences for every aspect of life.
CAP also has a senior member program for adults. Both men and women participate. Every once in a while in life, we find women that simply resent being treated like a lady. It doesn’t only occur with military minded women; one might find it in any profession. An example that comes to mind - which happened recently - was when the lady Senator reprimanded the 5 Star General for calling her "ma'am".
"I worked hard for this title", she told the General. "I expect you to use it! Call me Senator," she demanded.
I’m still shaking my head over that one.
But anyway, you get the idea. Well, this week-end, a similar experience happened to this friend of Matthew's; TB I will call him. TB is a wonderful young man, whom our family has grown to love. He is just a flat-out, all-around, good kid...and I admire the way he has been raised.
While at a CAP activity recently and while in uniform, TB held the door for a female staff sergeant. As his flight sergeant, she of course had authority over TB. Rather than thank the cadet for his thoughtfulness, she lit into TB with both barrels. "Don't you ever hold that door for me and treat me like some lady when I am in this uniform!" she scolded.
Without so much as missing a beat, TB responded, "I'm not holding the door for you because you're a lady! I'm holding the door for you because I'm a gentleman!"
Yep, "presence of mind", right from the heart.
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